“Stores offer same-day delivery to compete with Amazon” by Shan Li at LA Times. “The EBay Now pilot project was launched in August, partnering with the likes of Macy’s, Target and Best Buy. Basically, a customer orders an item on a smartphone and an EBay “valet” personally delivers by the end of the day for a $5 fee. (The first three deliveries are free.) The service was expanded to New York last month. “It was awesome,” said Kling, 30. “I’m normally addicted to online shopping, but it literally took just 30 minutes from when I ordered the Nexus to when the concierge delivered it. I was still sitting in my barber chair.” https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-same-day-delivery-20121214,0,2225974.story

“Facebook cozies up with Walmart for mobile-ad blitz” by Dara Kerr at CNET. “Walmart’s collaboration with Facebook was different from a typical mobile ad campaign on the social network. Instead of paying by ad clicks, Walmart pre-bought millions of ads that then overwhelmed any other retailers advertising on the cyber shopping weekend. Overall, the retailer bought 2 billion ads on Facebook to post throughout the holiday season, which includes the 50 million ads that it bought during the Black Friday experiment. Walmart declined to say how much these ads cost.” https://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559494-93/facebook-cozies-up-with-walmart-for-mobile-ad-blitz/

“Walmart Discounting iPhones and iPads With Apple’s Blessing” by Tricia Duryee at All Things D. “The 16 gigabyte iPhone 5 will cost $127, compared to the original price of $190 (with a two-year contract from Verizon Wireless, Sprint or AT&T). Wal-Mart is also selling the 16GB iPhone 4S for $47 — nearly half off. The 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi will cost $399, or $100 off. Interestingly, the 30-day promotion has Apple’s blessing. A Walmart spokeswoman told Retuers that the discounts were arranged with Apple. But, after making a few inquiries, the discounts proved difficult to find in a handful of locations in Washington and California.” https://allthingsd.com/20121215/wal-mart-deeply-discounting-iphones-and-ipads-with-apples-blessing/

“Amazon’s Monthly Visitors Could Fill 60 Disneylands” by Bob-Al Greene at Mashable (Infographic and Text). “Imagine Amazon is a brick and mortar store, with a sprawling parking lot and front doors that slide open as you approach. As you step inside, what do you see? The number of products available on Amazon could fill 1,290 Wal-Mart Supercenters. If you’ve ever gotten lost in one of those shopping megaplexes, then this kind of scale should make your brain hurt.” https://mashable.com/2012/12/16/how-big-is-amazon/

“Watch the Tractor Supply profile that ABC can’t air” by Nevin Batiwalla at Nashville Business Journal. “ABC’s “Nightline” did a story recently on how Brentwood-based Tractor Supply Co. ignored the recession. It never aired. That’s apparently because reporter John Berman, who spent time at a Tractor Supply sales meeting and toured a new store in New Hampshire, left ABC for CNN.” https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2012/12/the-tractor-supply-story-that-never.html

“Houston, we have an office supply problem” by Matt Clark at UT-San Diego. “Another government agency has claimed it was overcharged by retailer Office Depot under the same contract the San Diego Unified School District used for $17.3 million in purchases between 2007 and 2010. Houston auditors released a report last week claiming the city was overcharged up to $6.6 million when retailer Office Depot failed to honor certain best pricing promises for the contract, which the city used for $19.2 million in purchases between 2006 and 2010.” https://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/16/houston-we-have-office-supply-problem/

“Kroger Names Lynn Gust President of Fred Meyer Stores” at Herald Online. “Gust was born and raised in Vancouver, Wash. He is a member of the Portland State University Food Industry Leadership Center Advisory Board; on the board of directors of the Western Association of Food Chains; and on the board of directors of the Northwest Grocery Association. He is also a past chair of the Board of Directors of Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. He and his wife live in Portland and have four children.” https://www.heraldonline.com/2012/12/14/4485968/kroger-names-lynn-gust-president.html#storylink=cpy

“Walmart vs. Big Banks: The Battle For Poor Customers” by Halah Touryalai at Forbes. “What’s important in this relatively new (but tamed) battle between retail banks and retailers is that the consumers they are fighting for are down-market. Consider that one in four (28.3%) of all U.S. households conduct some or all of their financial transactions outside of the mainstream banking system. These folks are dubbed the “underbanked” or “unbanked”–people say they do not have enough money to open a traditional bank account or who say do not need or want an account. They’re exactly who Walmart is going after. You might think big banks have a “you can have ‘em” attitude toward retailers’ efforts with this lower-income demographic but you might be wrong. An increasing number of retail banks (mostly ones with smaller investment banking operations) are looking to lure low-income customers by offering products like pre-paid cards and pay-day loans.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/12/14/walmart-vs-big-banks-the-battle-for-poor-customers/